Shriners rodeo<0x000A>helps children<0x000A>with treatment

Published: Monday, July 28, 2008 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, July 28, 2008 at 1:20 a.m.

Five-year-old McQuade Dean loves going to the hospital. So much so, in fact, that he wakes up very early on the mornings of his appointments, exclaiming something like: "Mommy, I can't wait to go!"

We have the 400 members of the Ocala Shrine Club to thank in part for his enthusiasm. Their tireless fundraising efforts have helped him receive free medical care since 2002.

McQuade was born without one hand and one foot, and now, thanks to the Shriners' hospital in Tampa, puts his prosthetics to the test on rock climbing walls and the basketball court.

To continue helping children like McQuade, the Shriners will be hosting the 27th Annual Ocala Shrine Club Rodeo at the Southeastern Livestock Pavilion Aug. 28-31. All proceeds will be given to affiliated hospitals.

The four-day event kicks off with a special children's rodeo on Aug. 28, complete with stuffed animals in place of bucking broncos. Revelers can expect a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association-sanctioned rodeo during the rest of the weekend, and on Sunday, children younger than 12 will be admitted for free.

McQuade has been named this year's rodeo "Buckaroo" and will be serving as a rodeo representative of sorts, with his "Princess," Emily Grace Kelly, by his side. Both children will be outfitted from head to toe in cowboy gear from Wishful Thinking Western World.

Emily, 7, is a shy, smiling Shriners' child who was born unable to walk. After receiving help from the club, she was able to undergo a rhizotomy (surgery in which a nerve is cut close to the spinal cord) and lengthening of the tendons in her legs. Now the only evidence of this are the neon colored braces she wears on her legs.

"They're a miracle," her mother, Sandy, said of the Shriners. "I never have to worry about her being taken care of. They go above and beyond."

The group's first vice president, Hollywood Fried, an Ocala resident for 35 years, cried when he first met Emily, and since her appointment as the rodeo's princess, he has been helping her perfect a regal wave.

"We're all brothers with the same objective," Fried said. "If a child fits the criteria and we can fix the problem, we fix the problem." It's often as simple as making a phone call for these children in need to receive the help they desperately need.

"All they have to do is call the 800 number, and we get them hooked up," he said, explaining that members of the Shrine Club even drive patients back and forth for out-of-town appointments and wait alongside families in the hospital, which boasts a playground, video games and a custom prosthetics center.

The rodeo, which raises more than $50,000 each year, is the Ocala Shrine Club's most elaborate fundraiser and is months in the making. Although much of the money goes to help local children, even foreign children of war have been helped by the funds the rodeo raises.

"It's not an American thing. It's not a religious thing," Fried said. "It's a child in need. That's what being a Shriner is all about."

<p>OCALA -</p><p>Five-year-old McQuade Dean loves going to the hospital. So much so, in fact, that he wakes up very early on the mornings of his appointments, exclaiming something like: "Mommy, I can't wait to go!"</p><p>We have the 400 members of the Ocala Shrine Club to thank in part for his enthusiasm. Their tireless fundraising efforts have helped him receive free medical care since 2002.</p><p>McQuade was born without one hand and one foot, and now, thanks to the Shriners' hospital in Tampa, puts his prosthetics to the test on rock climbing walls and the basketball court.</p><p>To continue helping children like McQuade, the Shriners will be hosting the 27th Annual Ocala Shrine Club Rodeo at the Southeastern Livestock Pavilion Aug. 28-31. All proceeds will be given to affiliated hospitals.</p><p>The four-day event kicks off with a special children's rodeo on Aug. 28, complete with stuffed animals in place of bucking broncos. Revelers can expect a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association-sanctioned rodeo during the rest of the weekend, and on Sunday, children younger than 12 will be admitted for free.</p><p>McQuade has been named this year's rodeo "Buckaroo" and will be serving as a rodeo representative of sorts, with his "Princess," Emily Grace Kelly, by his side. Both children will be outfitted from head to toe in cowboy gear from Wishful Thinking Western World.</p><p>Emily, 7, is a shy, smiling Shriners' child who was born unable to walk. After receiving help from the club, she was able to undergo a rhizotomy (surgery in which a nerve is cut close to the spinal cord) and lengthening of the tendons in her legs. Now the only evidence of this are the neon colored braces she wears on her legs.</p><p>"They're a miracle," her mother, Sandy, said of the Shriners. "I never have to worry about her being taken care of. They go above and beyond."</p><p>The group's first vice president, Hollywood Fried, an Ocala resident for 35 years, cried when he first met Emily, and since her appointment as the rodeo's princess, he has been helping her perfect a regal wave.</p><p>"We're all brothers with the same objective," Fried said. "If a child fits the criteria and we can fix the problem, we fix the problem." It's often as simple as making a phone call for these children in need to receive the help they desperately need.</p><p>"All they have to do is call the 800 number, and we get them hooked up," he said, explaining that members of the Shrine Club even drive patients back and forth for out-of-town appointments and wait alongside families in the hospital, which boasts a playground, video games and a custom prosthetics center.</p><p>The rodeo, which raises more than $50,000 each year, is the Ocala Shrine Club's most elaborate fundraiser and is months in the making. Although much of the money goes to help local children, even foreign children of war have been helped by the funds the rodeo raises.</p><p>"It's not an American thing. It's not a religious thing," Fried said. "It's a child in need. That's what being a Shriner is all about."</p><p>Rodeo: Event raises $50,000 annually</p>